Helene Bergsholm, above, stars as 15-year-old Alma in "Turn Me On, Dammit!" The character chooses to explore sexually, causing her great ridicule from friends and community members. The film will screen tonight at the Bama Theatre at 7:30 p.m. (New Yorker Films)

The screening was briefly banned after initial opposition to the film
was voiced last month. The unrated, independent film, which contains
mature content, was pulled from the Bama Art House summer series lineup
after complaints from local pastors and questions from Tuscaloosa Mayor Walt Maddox.

"By this time tomorrow, everyone will be able to decide for themselves
what they think of the film," Left Hand Soap Company owner Erin "Soapy"
Jones said on Monday. "And that's something to celebrate."

Jones said she was excited and relieved that the day has finally arrived
after the unexpected twist the Bama Art House summer series experienced
in June.

Others share that sense of relief.

"I'm very glad to know that my and everyone else's rights were
protected, and I hope that those of us who choose to see the film will pack
the house out," Holly Kennedy, an adamant advocate of the screening,
said. "It's unfortunate that we had to worry about the fate of the
showing in the first place, but hopefully Tuscaloosa's arts scene will
be stronger after the controversy."

University of Alabama film professor Jeremy Butler thinks the
controversy has only helped a previously obscure film reach an unlikely
audience in Tuscaloosa.

"One obvious irony in this situation is that the kerfuffle about 'Turn
Me On, Dammit!' that has been ginned up by local pastors will have the
opposite effect that they hoped for," Butler said. "That is, by drawing
so much attention to a modest, obscure Norwegian film they will ensure
that its audience is much larger than it would have been otherwise. In
fact, I was so concerned that it might sell out that I bought tickets in
advance."

Butler says that even though he thinks the pastors' objections are
unreasonable and unfounded, his main concern all along has been the
official reactions of Tuscaloosa's elected officials.

"Just by watching the previews for and reading descriptions of this film
one can tell that it does not violate community standards for decency
or legal standards for obscenity," Butler said. "And since it is neither
indecent or obscene, it has every right to be shown in a
taxpayer-supported venue. As I said before, each and every film,
performance and presentation at the Bama Theatre, the Tuscaloosa
Amphitheater and PARA's parks need not appeal to each and every taxpayer
in Tuscaloosa County.

"We individual taxpayers may express our outrage about a particular
event though sermons, letters to the editor, social-media posts, etc.,
but Tuscaloosa's politicians must not intercede when an event violates
neither community standards nor city, county or federal laws."

Earlier this month, New Beginning pastor Fuller said he did not intend to make the film a larger issue than it needed
to be, but rather simply wanted to let his voice be heard about
entertainment he felt was inappropriate for Tuscaloosa residents.

"It
was never my intention to alienate people or to assume a self-righteous
stance," Fuller said earlier this month. "I was only intending to try to stop the
advancement of what I consider to be inappropriate entertainment
material for our community."

Fuller said his church has no plans to picket tonight's screening.

Tickets are $7 for general admission, $6 for students and seniors and $5
for Arts Council members. Doors open at 6:30 p.m., while the Bama Bar opens at 6:45 p.m.

"Turn Me On, Dammit!," directed by Jannicke Systad Jacobsen (and
based on a Norwegian book called "Turn Me On, Goddammit!"), is a critically acclaimed
coming-of-age tale about a 15-year-old Norwegian girl suffering local
ridicule after expressing a desire to explore her sexuality. A trailer
and descriptions of the film depict the character masturbating, engaging
in phone sex and exploring in other ways.